The present invention relates to equipment for handling split rings and, more particularly, to an apparatus for delivering, positioning, and opening a split ring to facilitate operator attachment of an object thereto.
Split rings are old and well known as a convenient means of attaching a variety of objects in a secure manner. Key rings are but one example of the multitude of uses to which splits rings are adapted. Split rings are also widely used in the assembly of many products, one common example of which is fishing lures and other types of fishing tackle. Split rings are commonly used, for example, to attach a fish hook to the body of a lure.
In the assembly of fishing lures, very small split rings are commonly used. For example, a very small split ring may have an outside diameter of about 0.16 inch (4 millimeters) and a wire diameter of 0.03 inch (0.7 millimeter). In addition, two closed loop objects, namely, the looped end of the hook and a similar loop attached to the lure body, must be attached to the same split ring. The assembly of these and similar objects to small split rings is extremely tedious and time consuming if done manually.
Although split rings come in a large variety of sizes and cross sectional shapes, a split ring is typically characterized by two coils of a single length of wire formed back-to-back in a tight coil with the opposing surfaces flattened somewhat and the opposite free ends spaced by a small gap on opposite sides of the wire at the point of wire crossover from one coil to the other. In any assembly technique, a tool is typically inserted into the split between the coils and adjacent one free end of the wire to allow the closed-loop objects intended to be attached to the ring to be slipped over the free end. Thereafter, the ring is simply rotated or turned with respect to the object approximately one complete turn to allow the object to travel along the split between the two coils until it reaches the opposite free end, whereupon the object completely encircles the ring coil and is secured thereto. Equipment of various types has been developed to facilitate the assembly of objects to split rings. Such equipment has varied in complexity from a simple hand-held pliers device including a pointed tooth on one jaw to facilitate opening the split in the ring, to more complex semiautomatic assembly equipment which actually holds, positions, and opens a ring in a manner to allow an operator to handle only the object or objects to be attached to the ring.
Although such semiautomatic assembly equipment has reduced substantially the tedious and time consuming task of split ring assembly, such equipment has not always operated reliably, particularly in handling the very small diameter split ring. There is, therefore, a need for improved split ring assembly equipment which can accurately and reliably handle a range of split ring sizes in a manner which will present the split rings in sequence and in proper orientation for rapid operator-assisted assembly of the object or objects thereto.